IN what was a game with little to no quality, Buckland Athletic were held to a goalless draw by Bridgwater United on Saturday, February 27.

This was a first game at The VX3 Stadium in over a month and just the second of 2026 for Buckland.

Manager Matt Cusack was crystal clear on his assessment of the game: “It’s two points dropped, there is no doubt about that.

“This isn’t to be disrespectful to Bridgwater but they’re in a period of transition, they played midweek and had long periods with 10 men in that one so probably came here a little bit depleted. I felt they were there for the taking.”

The early knockings of this league clash were really scrappy, neither side able to enjoy any sustained periods of possession and passes regularly going astray.

It continued to be a very bitty affair with no chances at either end in the opening 20 minutes, Cusack offering up a potential explanation for this, “Maybe it was a little bit of rustiness from a lack of games, this is our first home game in five or six weeks now.”

Both Buckland and Bridgwater had one shot of note each in the first half, the visitors pouncing on a defensive mishap and forcing Andrew Sowden-Bird into a save.

Shortly after, the ball eventually reached the feet of Ryan Bush after a mess in the penalty area and as he spun to shoot from close range, the home crowd were just waiting for the net to burst. Louis Smith in the Robins goal had other ideas though, making a superb stop with an outstretched leg to deny the league’s leading scorer.

The Bucks were encouraged by this and enjoyed plenty of the ball up until the break as they gained a major foothold, but just lacked that attacking edge.

Looking to inject more pace, Cusack sent on winger Phil Mendonca for the second half, replacing Toby Hard, and Mendonca saw plenty of the ball.

Just moments into the half, he was one of a few Buckland players involved in a disallowed goal, Isaac McCue with the final touch only for the offside flag to be correctly raised against Bush.

There were a few good passages of play from the home side as they looked to speed up play and turn the screw, Cusack using all four remaining substitutes as well who “offered some quality and fresh legs.”

It was too little too late in truth as the best chances came in added time, after Bridgwater had a man sin-binned for something he said and it did feel as if a lot of the marginal decisions were going Buckland’s way.

Bush poked just wide from a well-worked corner and there were also half-chances for captain Ben Carter and the returning Sammy Stayt. Bridgwater stayed strong and held on to take a point back up to Somerset.

Elsewhere, Newquay AFC won 5-1 away at Oldland Abbotonians to close the gap between them and Buckland to four points with four games in hand, whereas fourth-placed Sidmouth Town were on the receiving end of a 4-0 thumping by Street FC.

For Cusack though, “We can only control our own destiny”, he added, “The games will come thick and fast now, we know where we are positionally, we know that wins are a must if we want to achieve our goals and reach the playoffs.”

Cusack continued, “Whether it be quality in front of goal, quality of the cross or the final pass into the box, we didn’t do enough and that’s unlike us, we’ve been quite free scoring at home.”

There was huge ‘disappointment’ among the group that last week at Paulton Rovers; “A 1-0 defeat flattered us and we were well beaten on the day.

“We wanted a response today and I can’t fault the lads’ effort, I felt that they did give us everything in terms of effort but it was just that little bit of quality lacking in the final third.”

On the bright side, the aforementioned Stayt is now back in the fold following a lengthy spell out with injury, making an appearance from the bench against Paulton and again on Saturday afternoon.

“He’s like a new signing” in the eyes of his manager and “Sammy probably didn’t impact this game as much as he would have liked to but it’s going to take time for him, he’s been out for a while, when he gets going, he’ll be absolutely fine and we’ll be all the better for it.”

A visit to Oldland awaits on Saturday, March 7, and the goal is clear for the Yellows: “Next week, we have to go away and maximise our return. We’ll look to shake it up a bit now to get the results that we need.”